What Do I Need to Know about Placing Culvert Pipes on My Homestead?

When you think about culverts and culvert pipes, you probably think of pipes that are already in place on industrial sites or in driveways. If you have recently purchased land and plan on homesteading, you may find yourself on the construction and labour end of placing those same pipes on your own land. What you may not know is how to get started and a few key points about the culvert pipes themselves. Here are a few of those considerations.

Location

When you begin to plan out the placement of your culvert pipes, you will want to make sure you choose the locations that need it most. This may sound like common sense, but the truth is, if you don't know what areas to look for, you won't know where to place them. You are looking for two types of areas, low lying where drainage would be an issue and areas for road and travel crossings. Mark these areas on a map and plan out the culverts according to the format of these areas. Remember, you can run longer lines of culvert pipes if you have areas that are on a straight line connecting low lying and road crossing points.

Culvert Pipe Material

After you have chosen the location for your culvert pipes, you will need to decide what material you want the pipes to be made of. You have several options with this, but the most common are steel and concrete. When you choose the material, you need to consider the overall weather conditions for your area as well as the amount of pressure or weight that will be on the culverts at any given time. If you will be running light loads over the culverts, then a steel option may be ideal. If you will be hauling heavy loads on a frequent basis, you may want to consider a concrete option for durability. Both options will need maintenance, such as water and weatherproofing, so you will need to keep that in mind.

DIY or Professional Installation

One of the final tasks you will need to consider regarding your culvert pipes is who will handle the installation. If you are doing a small area, such as two road crossings or something similar, then you may want to handle it yourself. However, if you will be looking at a much larger project, or you do not have the proper tools, you may want to consider a professional installation. Though this may sound like something you would think of first, many people who have not done this type of project may not consider the grand scope of it. Tool rental is only one part of a DIY project like this. You would also need to know how to use those tools properly, have a way to transport them to the site, and how to store them properly during the project. For example, if you choose concrete material a concrete cutting tool would be necessary. This usually requires a professional certification to use and maintain.

These are just a few of the considerations to keep in mind when you are placing culvert pipes on your homestead. For a full idea of the types of culvert pipes that would work best for your homestead, along with pricing and installation information, contact your local contractor.